In Sydney for the Australian premiere of his movie G.I. Joe: Retaliation last night, Johnson, 40, said the new shoot-'em-up adventure fulfilled only one of his boyhood dreams.

"I played with two lines of action figures when I was a kid: G.I. Joe and Star Wars.

"By the way, because we didn't have a lot of money, I used to steal them. I'd just rip open the packages and shove 'em in my pockets ... like a lot of kids. I got caught a couple of times, got my ass kicked by my parents.

Which character should he play?

"So when I got the call saying, 'How do you feel about becoming the leader of the G.I. Joes?', it was like if I got a call from George Lucas saying, 'I want you to be in Star Wars'."

Lucas has now handed the beloved sci-fi franchise over to new blood in the shape of Star Trek director Abrams, who is slated to deliver his first Star Wars movie in 2015.

And 'The Rock' wants in.

"I'm gonna call J.J. and you're gonna help by printing it and I'm gonna be in Star Wars!" the wrestler-turned-actor declared.

Until then, fans can make do with seeing Johnson kick butt on earth when G.I. Joe: Retaliation opens on March 28.